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Amber Keys
Amber Keys '(born August 23rd, 1983), also known as '''Dirti Diva '(stylized DiRTi DiVA), is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Elite Answers Wrestling where she currently performs on the Showdown brand under her real name. Keys is best known for time in the Answers Wrestling Federation. She is a former two time AWF Women's Champion, AWF Tag Team Champion with EAW chairman Mr. DEDEDE, and a former Empire Tag Team Champions with Hall-of-Famer Cleopatra. Early life Amber Flores-Keys was born on August 23rd, 1983, in Bronx, New York, USA The Bronx borough of New York City, to Franklin Flores and Lisa Keys. Her mother has English and Irish ancestry, and her father is of Mexican and English descent. Although her parents were never married, Keys has stated that their love both for each other and their children had a greater impact on their family than a formal piece of paper ever could. She remembers both parents working many long hours and extra shifts in order to provide for the family and to save for their children to go to college. She is the oldest of three; she has a brother named Ian and a sister named Diana. Even with both parents working full time, Keys has said that she has lived in deep poverty, and that she’s had a hard life—before she reached the age of thirteen, she had witnessed four murders in her neighborhood due to gang violence. It was during her childhood that Keys had also struggled with a number of mental health issues. She credits watching pro-wrestling during her childhood as one of the only things that kept her grounded and even may have even “saved her life.” Keys was accepted to Columbia University and received admission to their accelerated Doctor of Physical Therapy program. However, Keys only attended one year at Columbia before deciding to leave school and instead pursue a career in sports entertainment. Professional Wrestling Career '''Training and Early Career (2002-2005) After deciding to leave Columbia University, Keys was encouraged by her father to develop a stronger sense of her cultural identity, as Flores is half-Mexican. With the money her parents had reserved for her college fund, she was able to arrange a year-long stay with extended family in Mexico where she would hope to get in touch with her roots, as well as seek an opportunity to pursue her doctorate degree in Mexico. She received an opportunity to study with trainers working with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico City, the oldest wrestling promotion on the globe. It was after watching the impressive displays of athleticism that she switched gears and made the impulsive decision to train at CMLL under retired lucha libre star Tony Salazar. Many officials, including Salazar, stated that Keys had the most natural ability of any woman who came through their school. In 2003, she started wrestling with CMLL under the name Diva Sucia (stylized DiVA SUCiA), or in English, Dirti Diva (stylized DiRTi DiVA or DiRTii DiVA), a controversial character known for her vulgarity and boisterousness. It was during this time where she developed and honed her skill set while growing rapidly in popularity with pro-wrestling fans all over the world. CMLL began working closely with various Japanese female only wrestling promotions, including Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina. Through her work in CMLL, Keys was invited to wrestle in Japan, where she met Ryan Adams (known as Mr. DEDEDE) of Viva La DEDEDE, a stable known for their lucha style of which Amber was a seasoned fan. Adams and Keys, drawn together by their shared love of wrestling and their hispanic heritage, began training together in Japan and became an exclusive item soon after. Return to the United States and Sunday Night Yahoo (2006-2007) Established in 2006, Amber signed to Sunday Night Yahoo where she was paired up with Mr. DEDEDE and made infamous for constantly interfering in his matches. It was alongside Ryan Adams that Keys started to gain a lot of backstage heat for getting into fights with other wrestlers consistently, later attributed to her bipolar disorder. Keys recalls that a lot of female wrestlers considered Ryan Adams to be out of her league and often made remarks about their relationship, which made it difficult for Keys to keep her emotions in check. Dirti Diva stayed with DEDEDE in SNY until the company’s closing and rebranding into the Answers Wrestling Federation. Answers Wrestling Federation (2007) Upon her arrival to AWF in March 2007, Dirti Diva transitioned seamlessly to the main event scene on AWF’s primetime show Legacy. She was frequently featured with Mr. DEDEDE, and became notorious for interfering in his matches and cheating to win. In March 2007, Dirti Diva competed in a tournament on Legacy to crown the first ever AWF Women’s Championship and came out victorious after defeating every other female star on the roster, including Mickie Lee, Jenny Orton, and Curious Girl. Upon being awarded the title, then-boyfriend and newly crowned AWF World Champion. Mr. DEDEDE proposed he and Dirti Diva would engage in “hot, unbridled” sex in the middle of the ring the following week on Legacy. The “Live Sex Celebration” segment earned Legacy a 5.2 rating, the highest rated Legacy episode of the show’s history, leading to the duo referring to themselves as the “most watched champions” of all time. After being drafted to War in May, Dirti Diva and Mr. DEDEDE captured the AWF Tag Team Championships from Wild4RKO. During the following weeks, DEDEDE entered a winning streak much credited to the effective management tactics of Dirti Diva, which helped DEDEDE win his first AWF Midweight Championship. In April of 2007, in the weeks leading up to AWF's Fatal War, Jenny Orton issued a challenge to Dirti Diva for her AWF Women’s Championship. Dirti Diva initially refused to compete with Jenny Orton, deeming her unworthy of a title opportunity, but she was forced to compete by general manager WWEFan or she would have been stripped of her title. At Fatal War in April 2007, Dirti Diva lost the AWF Women’s Championship to Jenny Orton. In May 2007, during AWF’s Payday event, Dirti Diva regained the title against Jenny Orton and continued to successfully defended her championship against numerous challengers before losing the title again at Battlefront in June to Mickie Lee. Dirti Diva spent the remainder of the summer competing in singles competition after tag team partner Mr. DEDEDE was taken out of action due to a legitimate injury. The team was therefore forced to vacate the AWF Tag Team Championships. In July, Dirti Diva began a feud with Viva La Raza, known the "Nasty Fucking Disgrace," who made her debut in June and immediately began constantly degrading Dirti Diva during her championship reign. Dirti Diva accepted a challenged issued by Viva La Raza, however, due to the months of humiliation and being verbally berated by Viva, Dirti Diva was more concerned with doing as much damage as possible, leading up to the two competing in the first ever women's steel cage match on an episode of War, a historic milestone in Dirti Diva's wrestling career. In September 2007, Amber Keys was released by AWF, a decision made largely in part due to unprofessional conduct with social media and backstage at events after it was revealed by Ryan Adams that Keys had real-life affairs with multiple different AWF stars. Elite Answers Wrestling ''Battleground ''(September 2018 - October 2018) in September 2018, it was announced that Amber Keys had signed with Elite Answers Wrestling after being contacted by EAW Chairman CM Banks and would be returning to in-ring action on EAW's developmental show Battleground. Keys, dropping the Dirti Diva monicker, competed in her first match against Ana Somnia and Colton Petrov on October 1, 2018 and came out victorious. Keys only spent three weeks in Battleground before being called up to the Empire roster after picking up victories against members of the Empire roster, Harlow Reichert and Constance Blevins. Empire Debut & The Queen's Court (October 2018 - February 2019) In her first match on Empire against Daisy Thrash, Keys received assistance in the matchup from who then seemed like an unlikely accomplice, Madison Kaline, allowing Keys to win. Eventually, Keys' motivations became clear after she sided with both Cleopatra and Madison who each had their own issues with the women of the Empire locker room, as well as feelings of being overlooked for years despite their legendary statuses. Keys, along with Cleopatra, assisted Madison in overthrowing the Unified Women's World Champion, Stephanie Matsuda and proclaiming that their trio was going to do any and everything necessary to restore the women's division of EAW to its former glory. At the FPV Bloodletter, the team of Cleopatra and Amber Keys defeated both the team of Daisy Thrash and Astraea Jordan and the reigning Empire Tag Team Champions, the Jaded Hearts, to become the new EAW Empire Tag Team Champions, strengthening their cause and continuing to prove that the legends will reign supreme. After Bloodletter, the trio arrived on Empire to celebrate their victories and began to officially refer to themselves as The Queen's Court. During the matchup at Bloodletter, Amber Keys suffered a neck injury after a hard bump off of a ladder, keeping her away from in-ring action for two weeks. In December, she was defeated Andrea Valentine in an Opportunity on a Pole matchup during the special FOX episode of Empire, booked by Stephon Hunte. At'' Road To Redemption, Amber served a valet for both of her partners during their respective matches, making it a point to interfere in both Cleopatra and Madison Kaline's matches, hoping to guarantee them a victory. During Madison Kaline's match against Raven Roberts, The Court was taken aback by the surprise return of Jael Arcana-Rosario and Chelsea Crowe, former members of The Crowe's Nest who returned to ''EAW in support of their former stablemate Roberts. On the January 3rd episode of Empire, The Queen's Court was defeated by The Crowe's Nest. This defeat promoted the Queen's Court to accept a challenge issued by The Nest to defend their Tag Team Championships at King of Elite. ''The Court was defeated by The Nest at King of Elite. 'Dynasty and The 1% (February 2019 - Present)' Not long after ''King of Elite, The Queen's Court debuted on Dynasty, ''disguised in masks and coming to the aid of Mr. DEDEDE and Theron Nikolas. The following few weeks, the Queen's Court would take on various opponents. However, not long after their debut, Mr. DEDEDE eliminated Madison Kaline alongside Amber Keys and Cleopatra, removing her from The Queen's Court and The 1%. Keys and Cleo retained the Queen's Court name on their own and successfully defeated The Score at the ''Ides of March supershow. That same night, Theron Nikolas was scheduled to face Donovan Cross for the Answers World Championship, but The Queen's Court interrupted the matchup before it was able to begin, resulting in a no contest. When Mr. DEDEDE arrived to assist in delivering a beating to Cross, Theron Nikolas attacked DEDEDE with a steel chair, somewhat of a surprise to The Court. Yet, they assisted Theron in the attack on the chairman and removed him both from The 1% and from EAW Television. Return to Empire and Feud with Minerva Legacy Dirti Diva is considered to be a pioneer for women’s wrestling, as she was one of the first female wrestlers on primetime TV to participate in a number of milestone matches: Dirti Diva was involved in the first two EAW main events featuring women. She won both matches, the first against Curious Girl on May 21, 2007, and the second against Jenny Orton and Mickie Lee in a triple-threat match on July 7, 2007. In the summer of 2007, she faced Viva La Raza in the first ever women's steel cage match. EAW mentions Dirti Diva as "a Vixen who always kept the EAW fanbase on their toes. Whether she was flying high off the top of a ladder or shocking censors alongside Mr. DEDEDE, the two-time Women's Champion knew how to elicit a reaction around the world." Her Women’s Championship match against Jenny Orton at Fatal War 2007 was ranked No. 1 by EAW in 2015 on the "10 Greatest Vixen Matches of All Time" list. This match is also cited as one of the most unforgettable Vixens matches along with her match against Mickie Lee at Battlefront, and against Viva la Raza in a cage match on War. Philanthropy and Activism In October 2012, Keys was named the ambassador of Mean Stinks, a campaign focused on eliminating bullying by girls. In May 2013 she was cited for her dedication as a mentor to teens and young adults with mental-health problems at a National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Washington. In late June 2013, Keys announced the creation of the Flores Treatment Scholarship Program, named for her father, to pay treatment costs for mentally-ill patients. Personal Life Keys identifies herself as a liberal politically and has stated her support for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage on numerous occasions. Keys has also previously criticized the Republican National Convention. Keys' hair is naturally brunette, although she has dyed it red throughout most of her wrestling career. She has a wide variety of tattoos: a three eyed green gargoyle on her upper right biceps, the word "Punk" on the inside of her lower lip, and the word "iconoclast" written in Russian Cyrillic letters on her lower back neck. In 2007, she acquired a sleeve on her left arm, featuring Mexican skulls, an homage to her father's heritage. She previously had two piercings in her tongue and another two in her nose. In 2005, Keys began dating fellow professional wrestler and current EAW chairman Ryan Adams, better known as Mr. DEDEDE. The two met while wrestling for indy promotions in both Mexico and Japan and were inseparable until Fall 2007, ending their high profile relationship due to infidelity on Keys’ part. In September 2007, it was revealed that Keys had been romantically involved with fellow wrestlers for several months while still in a relationship with Adams, who had been at home recovering from a torn pectoral muscle. Following Ryan Adams’ actions of repeatedly breaking kayfabe on the Internet by making all of Amber Keys’ affairs public knowledge, along with his ranting against Keys and fellow AWF star MOP, Keys was released by AWF. Keys has bipolar disorder, and has taken medication for it since she was nineteen. In February 2009, Keys attempted suicide by taking an overdose of the anxiety medication Ativan, and as a result, spent a week in the hospital. Commenting on the event to a magazine, she said: “I was isolating myself further and further, and the more I isolated myself, the more isolated I'd feel. I wasn't sleeping. I just wanted my head to shut off, like, I just wanted to completely stop thinking about anything at all.” In wrestling * Finishing moves ** Amber Alert (Running spear) ** Dirti Dive (Diving frog splash) ** Major Keys (Diving corkscrew stunner) * Signature moves ** Springboard moonsault ** Hurricanrana ** Suciakick (Superkick) ** Eye rake ** Biting ** Suicide dive ** Diving headbutt ** DDT ** Flying heel kick ** Enzugiri ** Various chops ** Corner foot choke ** Diving knee drop ** Springboard dive * Nicknames ** "Diva Sucia" ** "Dirti Diva" ''' * '''Entrance themes ** "Polyamorous" by Breaking Benjamin (2007-2008) ** "Easy Target" by blink-182 (September 2018-March 2019) ** "All It Takes For Your Dreams To Come True" by A Skylit Drive (March 2019-Present) ** "Woo" by Rihanna (with The Queen's Court) Championships and accomplishments Answers Wrestling Federation * AWF Tag Team Championship (1 time -- with Mr. DEDEDE) * AWF Women's Championship (2 times) Elite Answers Wrestling * EAW Empire Tag Team Championship (1 time -- with Cleopatra)